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10 oeuvres 229 utilisateurs 9 critiques 1 Favoris

A propos de l'auteur

Eve Golden is the author of numerous theater and film biographies, including Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn't Help It, Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld's Broadway, and John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars.
Crédit image: Mel Neuhaus

Œuvres de Eve Golden

Étiqueté

Partage des connaissances

Date de naissance
1957-04-15
Sexe
female
Nationalité
USA
Lieu de naissance
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Lieux de résidence
New York, New York, USA

Membres

Critiques

Excellent biography of Jean Harlow filled with lots of photos. The author did her research and debunked many theories on the death of 2nd husband Paul Bern as well as Harlow's tragic death. A good filmography as well. Highly recommended.
 
Signalé
knahs | 1 autre critique | Mar 25, 2023 |
This book is fairly well done with interviews by those who knew and worked with Kendall as well as her sister. While very few of her films are available in the U.S., she does appear to have been a good comedienne but I can't say that she was better than Carole Lombard who was one of the best. Personally, Kendall seemed like a self-centered, insecure, selfish, nasty person even though she had close friends who adored her throughout her life. And her illness and early death (which she had to have known) was tragic, the person that seems the most uplifting in this book is Lili Palmer. The author did not really explore Rex Harrison's reasons for taking on care of a terminally ill woman as he himself was also extremely self-centered and selfish. His refusal to even share the details of her illness with her family is also puzzling and should have been explored in more detail. Overall, a fairly good biography.… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
knahs | Jul 19, 2022 |
I am a huge classic film fan and own thousands of them. I also own hundreds of biographies of Hollywood actors, directors, studios, etc. I'm not interested in the actors of today, mostly because I watched those films with my parents. So I am of course eager to get my hands on anything written about actors from the past. Therefore, I wanted to read this biography.

Much has been written about actress Jayne Mansfield, but I've never thought anything had given her any justice. Eve Golden is a prolific author who has written other Hollywood biographies, and I've found her to be a fair judge and not biased on one side or the other.

Jayne Mansfield was an enigma. She wanted it all: marriage, motherhood, and utter Stardom. She tried to have it all, and failed so miserably, but never conceded that she did. She was a lovely person, both lovely in face and in her treatment of others, but was never taken seriously. Perhaps it's because she was given terrible scripts and offers; perhaps it's because she herself was at fault. I first saw her many, many years ago in a film called The Girl Can't Help It, and thought she was delightful. In that film, her gangster boyfriend wanted her to be a star, but all she wanted was a home and family. Maybe this is what should have happened to her in real life, but it was not meant to be.

She had a kind nature and while true stardom eluded her, she signed every object fans thrust in front of her. She talked to all reporters, even though they trashed everything she did and spoke badly of her. She went on tours, both to plug films and see the soldiers overseas. Jayne never landed in one place for any length of time, dragging both children and pets (and even husbands) with her.

When she died, reporters tried to make it lurid stories to sell papers. Lies were told, and to this day there are people that still believe them. She was thirty-four years old, still beautiful and young, like her fellow actors who died young - Marilyn Monroe and Jean Harlow. But while they achieved their own brand of stardom, Jayne never achieved hers until after her death. It's a sad commentary.

I will say I was at first skeptical of this biography when Ms. Golden quoted a Bob Hope film - The Lemon Drop Kid - as being a western. It's not; he plays a con artist and the movie takes place during the Christmas season. I watch it every year during the holidays. So, you can see why I was skeptical. But I found the rest of her information quite well researched and quotes from Jayne's family accompany this.

This is a hefty book that delves into Jayne's birth and upbringing; her need to have a man in her life at all times - perhaps because she craved love as well as adoration? - and her struggle to make a name for herself in Hollywood. It's well-researched, goes into great length of a recounting of Jayne's film, stage, etc., appearances and what the result of those were. Not only were reporters cruel, but other actors and studio executives. Yet Jayne never had an unkind word to say about anyone.

She was also educated, played two instruments and spoke several languages. She loved children and animals. It makes one think when you read this. You get an insight into who the woman really was. She wasn't perfect; no one is nor can they aspire to be so. But when you cease reading this book, you think how nice it would have been to sit and talk with her. But since that's impossible, you can still read the book. Highly recommended.
… (plus d'informations)
1 voter
Signalé
joannefm2 | Jan 13, 2021 |
The book isn't as much about Ziegfeld as the title much suggest, which is fine since Anna Held is a far more interesting person than the character we saw played by Luise Rainer in the movie The Great Ziegfeld. Highly recommended.
 
Signalé
jztemple | Jan 11, 2020 |

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Statistiques

Œuvres
10
Membres
229
Popularité
#98,340
Évaluation
3.9
Critiques
9
ISBN
39
Favoris
1

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